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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Hubs' appointment today didn't go as planned. The pre-employment assessment he had to do was an ethical questionnaire. No problem, thought The Hubs. Now you should know, The Hubs is the most scrupulously ethical person I know in a professional capacity (he has had his moments personally, but I digress). So this questionnaire should have been a breeze.

However, it seems that a couple of The Hubs answers were flagged. When asked the question Have you ever been tempted to take anything from an employer? The Hubs answered yes because, he thought, who hasn't been tempted to take office supplies? He was asked what item he had been tempted to take from his employer. The Hubs answered that he couldn't think of a specific example, but he was sure he had been tempted but he never had. He also expressed that he thought this was a common occurence.

A second question Have you ever been tempted to cheat an employer in any way again earned a yes answer from The Hubs, as he figured most people had at some point in time visited a non-work related internet site. This time he was asked what he had cheated his employer out of, so he gave the aforementioned answer. We've all done this, haven't we? I know I have (in fact, I do it most days). Besides, the question was had you been tempted to cheat an employer.

The Hubs said the interviewer seemed okay with these answers, but did not send The Hubs for his drug screen. Instead, he said he would have a talk with the HR Manager (interviewer is the Operations Manager) and, if they decided to call him back, be in touch. No date to expect a call this time.

We feel that's probably it and another job opportunity is gone. Having said that, did The Hubs really want to work for a company that stressed over being tempted to do something no one would ever do? I, mean, even Jesus was tempted.

The wait continues. I will keep you posted.

12
comments:

I totally understand - I have been a bit over-innocent too, maybe a bit over-ethical sometimes. Ugh. That's a tough situation, I am sorry that the HR person did not respect your hubbie for his honest approach.

Happy ICLW and thank you for visiting and commenting on Whatever He Says, Lynn.

I am so sorry to hear that The Hub's scrupulous HONESTY was counted against him. Interestingly, in one of Malcolm Gladwell's books (I think it was The Tipping Point) he writes about tests done that prove that nobody is 100% completely honest, (if we are honest with ourselves.) We rationalize and excuse little things and that was exactly what he was honest about. That would probably not have been a nice place to work.

Definitely frustrating, I never understand the obsession with these kinds of tests, more so in the US but the UK is getting that way, i just think people are never going to be honest if they are penalised for it- you know what they "want" to hear so answer it that way, same as interviews really if you answer how they want you to answer not necessarily how you would actually behave then they like it, but thats not a real representation of the person is it, so therefore quite pointless.

I am so sorry I feel your disapointment heavily, i know how much you both want Rich back in work, i pray something comes for you soon.

That's crazy! Wouldn't they rather someone who was honest? I think they should be more suspicious of someone who gave all Pollyanna answers because THOSE people are the ones who are trouble down the road! Good luck to your hubby1

Most HR people have no idea how to hire people in my experience. Would you really want to hire someone who freely lies on the test just to say what he/she thinks they want to hear? If I were the HR person I would much rather honest answers. Ugh business politics really irk me.